recall

Pueblo voters waiting when recall polls opened

Puebloans were waiting in line this morning to start voting in the recall election against state Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo.

County Clerk Gilbert “Bo” Ortiz opened early voting at his elections office, 720 N. Main St., and several dozen voters were ready when balloting began at 9 a.m. That office will be the sole location for early voting until Sept. 5, when Ortiz will open 10 other voting centers around the city.

Election officials were still hanging up signs as voters waited in line to cast either a paper ballot or vote on an electronic machine.

Dwight Shellman, a legal analyst for the Secretary of State’s office, was on hand as an observer and said he, or some other observer from the state office, will be in Pueblo throughout the recall election, which ends Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.

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Ortiz also invited Fremont County Clerk Katie Barr to be an observer. She arrived about 9:15 a.m.

Pueblo County Republicans protested on Thursday that Ortiz hadn’t given them required 24-hour notice before testing the voting machines, but there were election judges from both parties on hand Friday morning.

“If the election had taken place as planned, mail ballots would have gone out to voters on Aug. 19,” Ortiz said. “We would already have had 11 days of voting by now. I’m just trying to enfranchise as many Pueblo voters as I can in this shortened election period.”

The recall election has been a bitter, passionate race and those attitudes were present in early voters this morning.

“I think it is a huge waste of time and taxpayer money,” said Cary Kincade, who said she voted against the recall and agreed with Giron for supporting several new gun-control laws.

“Are we going to have a recall election every time a lawmaker casts a difficult vote? Angela’s up for re-election next year anyway,” she said.

Neil Hudgens came to support Giron’s opponent, Republican George Rivera.

“I believe in my Second Amendment (gun) rights,” Hudgens said. “And I don’t like the tactics either. All the phone calls I’ve been getting accusing George of everything, like being against women.”